This invention relates to a cartridge used for fitting (attaching) plate-shaped memory having memory element at a memory fitting portion to fit (attach) it with respect to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus to thereby carry out recording and/or reproduction of information signals with respect to the plate-shaped memory by this recording and/or reproducing apparatus, and a memory medium comprising such a cartridge and a plate-shaped memory.
Hitherto, as information recording medium of a drive unit included within a personal computer or an audio visual equipment and used as an information memory unit, or a drive unit used as an external memory unit of the equipment, there have been widely used disc cartridges within which flexible magnetic disc having diameter caused to be 3.5 inches is accommodated.
Since the disc cartridges within which flexible magnetic disc having diameter caused to be 3.5 inches is accommodated are excellent in wide use characteristic and compatibility as information recording medium, they have been widely used as a recording medium of a drive unit for carrying out recording and/or reproduction of various information such as not only data processed in the computer but also audio information or video information, etc.
Moreover, plate-shaped memories comprising solid-state memory, e.g., integrated circuit or flash memory, etc. and caused to become more compact are proposed as recording media such as personal computer or audio visual equipment, etc. Such recording media are attached at various electronic equipments, e.g., video camera, etc. and are adapted so that data such as video data and/or audio data, etc. are recorded.
Since plate-shaped memories using solid-state memory of this kind can be formed to be small as compared to disc cartridges within which flexible magnetic disc caused to have diameter of 3.5 inches is accommodated, such plate-shaped memories are suitable as recording medium of video camera used in portable manner and/or portable personal computer.
Since small recording media constituted as the above-described plate-shaped memory cannot carry out recording/reproduction of information signals if corresponding equipment is dedicated electronic equipment provided with recording/reproducing unit corresponding to such small recording medium, there is lack in wide use characteristic. In view of the above, there are proposed recording media in which the above-described small recording medium is fitted (attached) in cartridge caused to be substantially common in shape and external size (dimension) of disc cartridge within which flexible magnetic disc caused to have diameter of 3.5 inches is accommodated and of synthetic resin called upper half and lower half.
Meanwhile, as small recording media as plate-shaped memory fitted (attached) to the cartridge, various recording media have been proposed until now, but shapes and outer size (dimensions) are respectively different. For example, there is known a packaged plate-shaped memory in which one side is caused to be 37 mm, the other side is caused to be 45 mm and the thickness is caused to be 0.76 mm. Since such plate-shaped memory has thin thickness, sufficient strength cannot be obtained. For the purpose of preventing damage, it is necessary to pay attention to attachment/detachment with respect to the cartridge. As a result, handling is inconvenient. In addition, since the entirety of the plate-shaped memory is small and thin, there is the possibility that it may be missing in carrying and/or there is the possibility that it may be broken.
In view of the above, an object of this invention is to provide a novel cartridge used for fitting (attaching) plate-shaped memory having memory element at memory fitting (attaching) portion to fit (attach) it at a recording and/or reproducing apparatus to thereby carry out recording and/or reproduction of information signals with respect to the plate-shaped memory by this recording and/or reproducing aparatus, and a memory medium comprising such cartridge and plate-shaped memory.
Another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge easy in attachment/detachment with respect to cartridge which is substantially the same as cartridge within which flexible magnetic disc caused to have diameter of 3.5 inches is accommodated, excellent in mechanical strength and convenient in handling, and a memory medium comprising such cartridge and plate-shaped memory.
This invention proposed in order to attain objects as described above is directed to a substantially rectangular cartridge which is substantially common in shape and external size (dimension) to disc cartridge within which flexible magnetic disc caused to have diameter of 3.5 inches is accommodated and composed of upper half and lower half, wherein a memory insertion hole which permits short side and thickness of a substantially rectangular plate-shaped memory is formed at one side or at the other side adjacent to this side of the cartridge, the memory insertion hole being adapted so that the plate-shaped memory is inserted thereinto with short side being as insertion side, a memory fitting (attaching) portion substantially in correspondence with long side of the plate-shaped memory is formed in a manner continuous to the memory insertion hole and in parallel to the side adjacent to the side where memory insertion hole is formed, and a group of terminals connected to terminals provided at insertion side with respect to the memory insertion hole of the plate-shaped memory are provided at the terminating portion of the memory fitting portion.
Moreover, this invention is directed to a memory medium comprising a cartridge which is substantially rectangular common in shape and external size (dimension) to a disc cartridge within which a flexible magnetic disc caused to have diameter of 3.5 inches and composed of an upper half and a lower half, and a substantially rectangular plate-shaped memory having a solid-state memory therewithin, wherein a memory insertion hole which permits short side and thickness of the substantially rectangular plate-shaped memory is formed at one side or the other side adjacent to this side of the cartridge, the memory insertion hole being adapted so that the plate-shaped memory is inserted with short side being as insertion side, a memory fitting portion substantially in correspondence with long side of the plate-shaped memory is formed in a manner continuous to the memory insertion hole and in parallel to side adjacent to the side where the memory insertion hole is formed, and a group of terminals connected to terminals provided at the insertion side with respect to the memory insertion hole of the plate-shaped memory are provided at the terminating portion of the memory fitting portion.
In more practical sense, in the cartridge, one side is caused to be substantially 89.9 mm, the other side is caused to be substantially 93.9 mm, and the thickness is caused to be 3.5 mm. In the plate-shaped memory, the short side is caused to be substantially 21.45 mm, the long side is caused to be substantially 50 mm, and the thickness is caused to be substantially 2.8 mm. In the memory insertion hole, the long side is caused to be substantially 21.7 mm and the short side is caused to be substantially 2.85 mm. In the memory fitting portion, the depth is caused to be substantially 50 mm.
For example, in the cartridge, the memory insertion hole is provided at the other side of the cartridge, and the memory fitting (attaching) portion is formed in parallel to one side of the cartridge, whereby insertion direction with respect to the cartridge of the plate-shaped memory is formed so that it is caused to be direction perpendicular to insertion direction with respect to the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.
Moreover, in the cartridge, the memory insertion hole is provided at one side of the cartridge, and the memory fitting portion is formed in parallel to the other side of the cartridge, whereby insertion direction with respect to the cartridge of the plate-shaped memory is formed so that it is caused to be the same as insertion direction of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.
At one corner portion of the front face serving as insertion side with respect to memory insertion hole of the plate-shaped memory inserted into such cartridge, there is formed an erroneous insertion preventing groove of which front and bottom surface side are opened. At each terminating portion of the memory fitting portions provided at the two kinds of cartridges, erroneous insertion preventing projection engaged with the erroneous insertion preventing groove is formed to thereby prevent the group of terminals from being damaged as the result of the fact that the front face of the plate-shaped memory and the group of terminals of the memory fitting portion side are in contact with each other when the plate-shaped memory is erroneously inserted, and to project the plate-shaped memory from the insertion hole to thereby allow user to securely recognize erroneous insertion.
Further, the thickness of the plate-shaped memory occupies 80% or more of the thickness of the cartridge. Thus, the plate-shaped memory carries out strength reinforcement of the cartridge.
Furthermore, the long side of the plate-shaped memory has length more than half of one side or the other side of the cartridge to thereby carry out strength reinforcement of the cartridge.
In addition, the short side of the plate-shaped memory is formed so that it is 20% to 25% of one side or the other side of the cartridge. Thus, various electric circuits can be provided at the cartridge while reinforcing strength of the cartridge.
Still further objects of this invention and more practical merits obtained by this invention will become more apparent from the description of the embodiment which will be explained below.